Greggs sees sales jump amid surging cost inflation

Greggs has revealed that sales jumped by 15% over the past three months as cash-conscious consumers opted for value meals.

The bakery chain said sales slowed during August as people ditched the staycations that had been fuelled by the pandemic, but that momentum returned in September.

It said the sales increase comes “in an environment where cost pressures are significant and our outstanding value-for-money positioning is ever-more important to consumers”.

Greggs also noted that its sales growth dipped by about 1% as a result of closing its shops for the Queen’s funeral on September 19.

Cost inflation for the year is expected to remain at its previous estimations of 9% on last year as the retailer faces surging costs of raw materials, production, and energy.

The chain – which has recently launched its new autumn menu including the pumpkin spice latte and the chicken and stuffing baguette – previously announced that customers would see 5p or 10p increases on some items as it was forced to raise prices for the second time this year.

But Greggs said it has fixed prices with suppliers for a good level of its future food and energy costs.

The group has driven forward its expansion plans and is set to have opened 150 new stores for the year as a whole, including two “drive through” shops in Amesbury and Durham.

Despite the “considerable uncertainty” across the wider economy, Greggs made no changes to its full-year profit guidance.